Abstract

Daniel Cohalan was Bishop of Cork from 1916 to 1952. During those years he witnessed many changes and upheavals in Irish society. The first ten years of his episcopacy were, however, probably the most traumatic as they witnessed both the War of Independence and the Civil War. County Cork witnessed some of the more significant engagements during the War of Independence and also a prolonged hunger strike during which two Republicans died. Consequently, Bishop Cohalan was well placed to comment on these features of Irish life. He is remembered in accounts of that period as the only Irish Bishop to have issued a decree of excommunication on those involved in acts of murder, ambushes, and kidnapping. He also played a very public role during the hunger strike of the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney: visiting him in prison, pleading for his release, and presiding at his funeral.